At Rukararwe, handmade crafts tell a story of creativity, community, and empowerment. Our craft shop is the heart of Crafts Against Poverty (CAP), a project run by our NGO, Rukararwe PWRD. Every item sold here—whether it’s a colorful basket, a beaded necklace, or a hand-sewn bag—is made by a member of our local women’s group.
The goal of the CAP project is to help women generate income while gaining skills in business, group work, communication, sustainability, and environmental awareness. Every woman signs her name to her crafts, so when you buy something the money goes directly to the woman who made it.
Since its founding in 2010, the group has grown to include over 50 women. Through regular meetings and workshops, they’ve learned to make jewelry from recycled paper, tailor unique bags with African Kitenge fabric, weave traditional baskets from local papyrus grasses, and create many other beautiful items. Their paper beads, once made from old calendars, are now varnished and so well-crafted you’d never guess their origin.
Visitors to Rukararwe are warmly invited to browse the shop. Whether you’re looking for a meaningful gift, want to support local women, or simply admire beautiful handmade work, you’re sure to find something special. Every purchase supports a woman’s livelihood and the continued growth of this inspiring project.
We are also happy to ship. Just reach out to us if you’d like to bring a piece of Rukararwe’s creativity home with you.
Products:
The culture of the Ankole kingdom uses various types of baskets for many purposes as welcoming visitors, use at parties, weddings or just in the daily work. They are weaved out of Papyrus grass.
We are selling a big variety of bags from small handbags and normal shoulder bags to padded laptop rucksacks. All of these products have a high quality and are made of typical African fabrics, called Kitenge, with their colourful and individual patterns.
When the CAP project started, the women learned how to use old papers like calendars and advertisements to produce beads for different types of jewelry such as Necklaces, Bracelets and Earrings. There is a big variety of different forms and colors to be admired in our shop on Rukararwe grounds.
Now we also sell a technical handbook on Low-cost vegetative propagation of trees and shrubs, written by our experts on tree planting.
For more information about the Women Group and our Craft Shop click here: https://www.rukararwe.org/rukararwe-women-group/